Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Lelands: Dodger Rarities

Lelands has their June auction running and they, once again, do not disappoint. Below are some interesting and rare items I felt were worth sharing.

No doubt a one-of-a-kind item, Lelands is auctioning the 1915 deed to the land that Ebbets Field sat on. This document memorializes the sale of the land in Brooklyn and includes a full signature of Charles Ebbets.

Here is game-used bat that came from the personal archives of the Robinson family. In fact, it was originally consigned in the late 1980's by Rachel Robinson to Lelands and eventually sold to the current owner.

The bat is a Hillerich & Bradsby R115 Signature Model. It is 35" in length and weighs 35.1 ounces. It is uncracked with moderate use. A small chip on knob has been repaired. There are ball marks on the right, left and back barrel. There is beautifully crude number "42" on the knob in vintage black paint over the R115 model number stamped into the knob. Overall the bat shows excellent player use characteristics. The labeling dates it from 1955-56 the year of his World Championship. It is likely Jackie brought it home after an "exceptional" moment such as winning a World Championship! We can recall Rachel Robinson only ever having two game used Jackie Robinson bats other than World Series and All Star bats, which traditionally were not used. That makes this one of only two pure gamers with direct ties to Jackie's own collection.

The 1947 Bond Bread Jackie Robinson set is without question the greatest set put out in the 1940's. Say what you will about Play Ball's, Wheaties, Double Play's, Leaf's, etc. I believe this set had all you needed. There are 13 cards in all and it only features Jackie. They are scarce and, considering they came out the same year Jackie broke the color barrier, are all rookie cards. This lot is one short of a complete set. I have one of these cards in my collection (the top center card), but it's nowhere near as nice as the one here.

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